Act Two
by rebmetpes-86
Summary: Mr. Smith must help 24 year old Vivien Lee prevent her younger self from getting hurt over a guy and becoming so jaded. However all seems lost when Vivien unconsciously helps her younger self repeat history...[Please R & R if you can]
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Vivien stepped out of the McDonalds on the University campus, clutching her cup of hot coffee. She sipped the liquid gratefully and could almost feel the chemicals taking effect. Most days she loved her job as a Teaching Assistant, but combined that with the First Years, whom never understood whatever she explained, and the paper she was in the middle of writing in order to get her graduate degree, she needed coffee now more than ever.

"Vivien?"

The girl turned to see a blonde young man eagerly strolling towards her with a big grin on her face.

"Corey!" Vivien couldn't help but laugh and smile as the guy gave her a hug, careful not to make her spill her cup of coffee. "Oh my gosh, it's so good to see you! How long has it been? Five years?"

"Closer to seven." Corey tried.

Vivien nodded. "Yeah, well, time flies. It's good to see you."

"Good to see you too." She thought the guy's smile couldn't get any wider, but somehow it did.

"What are you doing up here?"

"Oh well, you know, summer's here, we'd just thought we'd come up and see the sights."

"We?"

"Yeah, Steven and his fiancée."

"Fiancée?" Vivien took a sip from her coffee in an effort to mask her shock. She took a trembling hand and ran it through her raven black hair and adjusted her glasses.

"Yeah, didn't he tell you? He got engaged to a girl named Patricia. They met two years ago at his cousin's wedding. I think she was actually the one that caught the bouquet, ironically enough."

"Yeah…I guess I haven't been exactly in the loop lately." Vivien let out a laugh that she hoped wasn't too sarcastic. "What about you? Do you have anybody?"

"Me?" Corey ran a nervous hand through his hair. "No, not in that way. I've been seeing a girl a few times. My mother introduced us actually. Pathetic, eh?"

"No, not at all. I think it's rather sweet."

"I guess so, but I'm going to have to end it the next time I see her."

"How come?"

Corey shrugged and shoved his hands into his blue jean pockets. "She's a sweet girl. I just don't feel anything for her, that's all. I've tried, but nada, nothing."

"Too bad."

"Yeah….what about you?"

"Me?" Vivien echoed. "No, nobody for me. You know how I am. Never the girlfriend type, just one of the guys." The last few words ended up a much bitter note than she had intended, but there was nothing she could do about that now.

"Hey, I'm sure Steven and Patricia are nearby somewhere, how bout I call them up and we can all hang out? Go…eat or something I guess, since you already have your coffee."

Dread started to fill up inside of Vivien. "Uh no, it's ok. I'd rather not. I'd better be getting back uh…home. Or to the lab." In the distance, she saw two people walking towards her. The guy she recognized well enough. The girl she had never seen before. But they had their arms locked around each other, so much in love. It broke her heart. It was enough.

"Wait Vivien…"

"I'm sorry." Vivien mumbled as she stumbled backwards, turned around and proceed to run into a man on a bike.

"Hey!" Mr. Smith cried out.

"Sorry!" Vivien absentmindedly said as she started to run. She had to get across the street, get away, get anywhere after that, as long as it was away.

"Vivien!"

The young girl never saw the bus. The driver braked and swerved but she was too sudden; he reacted too late.

She was dead before she even hit the ground.

Mr. Smith came and knelt beside her on the cold pavement. "Well, I guess you were always the one trying to get away."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She looked so beautiful lying there, almost as if she was asleep. All the cares, fears, worries gone from her face. Only peace was left. Mr. Smith couldn't help but stare. How come she had never looked like that when she was alive? How come it took death to reveal her true inner beauty?

He forced himself to be distant as he watched her spirit rise from the body. She glanced around. "Where am I?" she said more to herself than anything.

"Vivien!"

The girl turned in confusion at the one person who could see her. She took three steps forward before walking through the jelly wall.

"What's going on? Who are you?"

"I'm Mr. Smith. And…I'm afraid you've passed on."

"Passed on?" Vivien glanced around and saw the distant images of the crowd forming around her body. The bus driver that was half in shock, repeating over and over again that he just didn't see her dash across the road. A sobbing Corey, cradling Vivien's head in his lap as her motionless body lay on the sidewalk.

"No…this can't be…no…the bus…" Vivien moaned as the realization began to sink in. "I just wanted to get away…I didn't see …"

"Indeed Mr. Smith, she doesn't seem to see a lot of things that are right in front of her."

Mr. Smith recognized the voice and the figure, but he was foreign to his newest client. "Who is this?"

"This is Judge Othniel, he's here to come to decide your fate."

"My fate? Like…whether or not I'm going to end up happily ever after or burning for eternity?"

"Something like that." Mr. Smith confirmed.

Judge Othniel looked at Mr. Smith over the rim of his glasses. "Well Mr. Smith? Do you have a case in support for your client?"

"Well," Mr. Smith began. "Ms. Vivien Lee has been a fighter all of her life. She has fought for what she believed in, helped out with various fundraisers, charities, never raised her voice or was intentionally mean or nasty. Even when she did not achieve her dream of getting into medical school, she did not give up and returned for another degree in her quest to make the world a better place."

"Yes she has tried to do that." Judge Othniel said absentmindedly as he looked over her file. "But tell me, what has she done for her soul?"

"Her soul?"

"Saving the world is all good and well Mr. Smith. But what about saving yourself?"

Mr. Smith cast a glance over at Vivien. Her face showed that she was starting to understand what Judge Othniel was saying, but still unable to admit the fact.

"Considering my client's history I doubt that there would have been any need to save herself."

"Oh really?" The space behind Judge Othniel materialized into a scene that Vivien remembered all too well. It was the rehearsals for the production of one of their high school plays. All three watch her sixteen year old self clumsily sort through the switches and buttons that control the lights on stage. Beside her was a dark haired boy a year older that was guiding her through the process.

"Steven." She breathed.

"You're first love?" Mr. Smith guessed. Most of his clients usually had some regret related to love.

The two teenagers in the illumination laughed and chuckled with each other in the narrow. Steven went and turned his back, preoccupied with other things and clearly missing the look of love and admiration in the young girls' eyes.

"He was everything I ever wanted." Vivien said sadly. "The first guy I really opened up my heart to…and it seemed like he really liked me. I thought I was a shoe-in this time, I thought maybe this time things would be different.."

_Sixteen year old Vivien wanders into the makeup room to see Steven making out with a blonde haired girl on a worn out couch that was kept there to help the actors relax between scenes. Steven eyes her and breaks out ofthe kiss._

_"Vivien! Hey! Uh…nice timing!…I'd like you to meet my girlfriend."_

_"Nice to meet you." Vivien desperately tries to mask the horror and shock on her face as she puts on a smile and exchanges a handshake._

"…but I was wrong. And I never really got over that."

_A twenty year old Vivien sits at a bar with a friend. A guy eyes her from across the room and goes over to talk to her, only to have her reject him. Crestfallen, he goes back down to sit with his friends._

_"What are you doing?" Her best friend asks, half in shock. "He looked like a half decent, gentlemanly kind of guy…which is a rare find these days and especially in places like this."_

_Vivien took a sip of her beer. "I'm not for him."_

_"How do you even know that? How would you even know if he was the one for you or not? What are your reasons for being so stubborn?"_

_Vivien got up, obviously having enough of what her friend was saying. "I could just look into a mirror and find all my reasons." She pretended to ignore the hurt look on her friend's face and walked out._

_"Don't be so harsh on yourself!" The friend called after her, but it was no use. "I just wish you could see how beautiful you really are." Those last words were spoken in a whisper. _

Judge Othniel sadly shook his head. "You put yourself down so much, never opening your heart."

"But it wasn't her fault." Mr. Smith jumped in. "Throughout her childhood she was never quite what the boys were looking for in a girlfriend, mainly because she wasn't the type of girl to care about dressing fashionably or putting on makeup and fixing her hair. She was the perfect person to turn to for problems, for advice, for hanging out, but nothing more than that. And when the seemingly perfect boy shows up at her doorstep and turns out to be uninterested in her as well, that action was the last straw for her."

"Not…not entirely." Vivien admitted. "I admit…I was so shy. I…I thought I was doing enough, opening enough of my heart to him, being obvious. But when I think about it now, I could have done more to let him know I was interested. Maybe…maybe that would have made all the difference."

Judge Othniel nodded. That was all the encouragement that he needed. "And what would you do if you were able to go back and try to make yourself change?"

Her eyes went wide with surprise. "Really? I mean…can I really do that?"

"That's what Judge Othniel is here to offer you." Mr. Smith replied. "A second chance."

For the first time, Mr. Smith saw hope and possible happiness in those young girl's eyes. "Oh, if only I could get the chance to go back. If only I could get the chance to go back and right the wrongs in my life."

"And what exactly would that be, Ms. Lee?"

"I'd…" she swallowed. "I'd help my younger self be more outgoing and open her heart to love."

Judge Othniel seemed to be satisfied with that answer. He reached into his big black bag and pulled out his mallet. "Then Ms. Lee, may you succeed in your quest. You will have three days, and three days only, to go back, and right the wrong that you have regretted the most. No one will recognize you; you are a free agent in the universe, with the blessing of God Almighty and His Court."

_Wham!_

All Vivien and Mr. Smith could see was a blinding yellow light in their eyes.

* * *

_Author's Note: I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who's read my story so far, and I hope that you'll continue to like this story as it progresses. Yes, I am (obviously) a big Twice in a Lifetime fan, I was really sad when I found out that it had been taken off the air, but I still think it's a great show regardless._

**Carol Stevenson: Thank you for reading my story and I'm very glad you like it so far. I actually thought of this storyline/idea quite awhile back after I wrote my other TiaL fanfic "Twice in an Eternity" but at that time I decided not to write it. But when I logged on here the other day (after a long absence) I read over all the reviews I had gotten and the reviews for "Twice in an Eternity" inspired me to pick up this story again. I hope you like it. )**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Sorry!"

Both Vivien and Mr. Smith blinked rapidly, but the light never faded from their eyes. Mr. Smith was used to the blinding flashes that came with the job, but this light was different. It was darker in colour and he felt he could actually feel the heat radiating from a source somewhere in the distance. What was going on?

"Hang on…one second…I know how to do this…" A few seconds later the light was suddenly gone from their eyes and the couple blinked a few more times to adjust to their new surroundings.

It was a theatre. A small theatre, perhaps seating no more than 250, 300 bodies at the most. And it certainly wasn't the cleanest of places at that moment. Backpacks and multicoloured coats were piled sporadically amongst the dull grey cushioned seats. People were running around yelling, shouting, talking to each other and occasionally putting more scratch marks along the worn black stage floor. Stage lights and wires were everywhere (it was a wonder to Mr. Smith why nobody had tripped yet) and a huge wooden ladder was set up in the middle of all the commotion.

Vivien looked at her clothes. They certainly weren't high school clothes (thank goodness for that, she didn't feel like revealing half her stomach for the entire world to see) but they weren't adult clothes either. College clothes were the closest thing that came to her mind: blue flared jeans and a casual but slightly form fitting sweater to match. She glanced at Mr. Smith and saw that he also had the same jean/sweater college assembly on.

"I'm sorry, did I blind you? That's what happens when you ask actors to work on tech stuff."

It was only then that Vivien's eyes focused, right on the face of her younger self. "Uh uh…no…not anymore."

Her younger self couldn't help but flash a smile. "Hey, you must be the people Mrs. O'Neal said would be coming over from the Phantom Theatre Society. I'm sorry, what were your names again?"

"I'm…Kathy." That was the first name that came to her mind. She stepped aside and gestured to Mr. Smith.

"You can just call me Smith." He said as he shook hands with the young girl.

"Alright Kathy and Mr. Smith." Excitement was lighting up in her eyes. "Wow, I'm sorry, it's so exciting to work with people from a real theatre company."

Vivien smiled back at herself. "This theatre company is a real theatre company as well, never forget that."

"Thanks." Her younger self glanced down to the floor, on the verge of blushing.

"Vivien! Come on! We need you to come and memorize your lines!" Somebody shouted offstage.

"But I've already memorized my lines!" Vivien shouted back.

"Then come and help everybody else memorize _their_ lines!"

She gave an apologetic smile to the two. "I'm sorry, I guess duty calls." Without another word, she jumped down onto the stage and ran behind the curtain.

"Look at me." Vivien sighed. "So young, so full of life. Wait…how, I remember this day. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was so happy Steven asked me to help him set up the lights, but at the same time I was so foolish cause I didn't know how to do anything…but I never remember anybody called Kathy."

Mr. Smith rested a gentle hand on her shoulder. "It's the second time around now. You're here, and hopefully everything's going to change."

But everything still felt the same. Exactly how she remembered it. The shouts, the chaos, everything that she loved about the theatre. Almost instinctively, she cast her eyes up the rows of seats and settled her gaze at the door that had just opened and the figure that was lightly skipping down.

Her heart almost stopped. She recognized that figure instantly. How could she have ever forgotten? The all black ensemble, the manner of walking, the black hair that always seemed to be matted to his forehead.

"Steven." She whispered. Her feet took rapid steps forward, but she was soon roughly grabbed by the arm and held back.

"Let go of me!" she hissed to Mr. Smith as the figure passed them. "I have to go talk to him!"

"Not with the way you looked just then." He calmly replied. "What do you exactly plan on saying to him? Remember, he won't recognize you. If you talk to him as Vivien, he'll just get freaked out."

"I have no idea what to say." Vivien admitted. "But I just know I have to talk to him!" She tore free from his grasp and skipped down the small flight of stairs to the black stage before Mr. Smith could protest.

"Steven." Her heart was beating so fast, she was fighting and losing the battle of having a huge smile on her face. "It's great to see you again."

The boy looked up from the pile of lights and wiring and raised an eyebrow. "Again? We've just met."

"Met?" Mr. Smith's words finally sank into Vivien's brain. _He won't recognize you._ Suddenly she found herself lost in what to say. She was flustered.

"Well, uh…I just didn't have a chance to say hi." Vivien quickly stuck out her hand. "I'm V—Kathy."

Steven took her hand and shook it. "Steven, nice to meet you. You're from that other theatre company right? You and your friend are here helping us out for our performance."

"Yes we are. So…I saw you helping out Vivien with the lights earlier."

"Vivien? You know her?"

"Yes I do."

"Oh that's nice."

Vivien wrinkled her forehead. _Oh that's nice?_ She had to keep trying. The plan was becoming clearer in her head. She knelt down beside Steven and absentmindedly began to untangle some wires. "That was awfully nice of you, teaching her some technical stuff."

"Oh it's no problem." He looked at her with his sparkling brown eyes. "I could teach you some of that stuff as well, if you're willing to learn."

Mr. Smith suddenly appeared behind Steven, no longer sporting the jean and sweater combo but dressed in a leather jacket and black pants. "Can you please tell me what _on earth_ are you doing?"

"I'm talking to him." Vivien replied. "Now would you please leave us alone so we can have a conversation?"

"But we are alone." Steven replied, confused.

"That's because in this outfit, you're the only one who can see and hear me." Mr. Smith explained. "Now I suggested you stop talking to me unless you want everyone else to think that you're crazy."

Vivien mentally cursed herself for all of these loops. "Well…my friend Smith was here a second ago, but he seems to have run off again. He's always like that, on the go."

"Cool." Steven replied.

Vivien felt like strangling him. Did that guy ever care about something so much he didn't reply in a monotone voice? No, it was her that had to open up her heart to love. That was her goal. And there was only one way to accomplish that.

"Hey Steven?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you mind showing me how to operate the lights?"

"Didn't you come here to help out on makeup?"

Vivien mentally cursed herself again. "Yeah…but…I'm interested in lights and all that tech stuff as well. Hey, maybe you could include Vivien. I'm sure she wouldn't mind some more practice with the lights."

Steven considered that for a second before he nodded. "Sure, it'll be fun if she comes along."

Her plan was underway. She thanks Steven, got up and practically skipped towards the back room. Smith grabbed her arm again. "I'd like to know what on earth that was."

She grinned back at him. "At this rate, I'm going to accomplish my goal a day early!" She pulled her arm from his grasp and opened the door just as her younger self was about to step out. "Vivien!" she cried happily. "Just the person I wanted to see!"

Her younger self gave a wary look. "I am?"

"Steven's going to teach us about the lights."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. Well, he asked for you personally."

The wary look remained but Vivien knew what she was looking for. That little bit of sparkle that crept into the girl's eyes. "He did?"

"Tomorrow afternoon. You better be here!"

"It's opening night. Everyone's going to be here."

"You know what I mean. See you later!" Vivien took a note of her younger self's smile and happily skipped out of the theatre, ignoring the worrisome look from Mr. Smith.

* * *

A/N: Thank you to everyone that's read/reading my fanfic. I must apologize; studying for exams has left me literally wiped out…so hopefully this chapter is still up to stuff. I doubt there will be any more new chapters until at least the New Year. Sorry once again!

To Carol: Thank you for your review again! And thank you for reading my first TiaL fanfic!


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"Just slide the phase slider into the lights…easy does it." Steven said gently.

Vivien almost stuck out her tongue in concentration as the sheet of metal clicked into place. The phase slider contained a thin piece of red gel. Now whenever that particular light was switched on it would glow with an angry red hue.

"There we go Kathy." Steven said happily. "That wasn't so hard was it?"

"I guess not." Vivien answered, feeling the old butterflies still fluttering around in her stomach. How could she have ever forgotten that feeling?

"Hey Vivien, want to put that blue gel in by yourself?" Steven offered to the younger girl.

"But uh…I'm not sure if I would do that right." She stammered.

"Oh come on, it'll be fine. You just watched me teach Kathy." Steven gave the older Vivien a little wink and a nudge.

"I…can't." the young girl still stammered.

"Go teach her, I have to go check on other people." Vivien insisted. She almost had to shove Steven over to her younger self.

"Alright fine, but only because you asked so nicely." Steven pretended to roll his eyes before he squatted down next to the younger Vivien, took her hands in his and began showing her how to lower the slider into place.

She was in heaven, or at least the closest heaven-on-earth she could possibly imagine. Originally Steven had planned on teaching them a thing or two opening night which was tomorrow, or so her and her younger self had thought. But luckily it turned out to be a honest spur of the moment mistake when her younger self had said opening night was tomorrow: it was the next day. All the better: Steven still offered to teach them a thing or two about the lights, and now he had more time to do it.

Vivien watched the two for a few seconds before she happily skipped into the back room nearly crashing into Mr. Smith causing him to drop everything he was holding in his arms. Various props crashed to the ground. Plastic swords, wooden sticks and daggers and the lone horse head made a deafening clatter as they came into contact with the pale yellow linoleum floor.

"Sorry Mr. Smith! I didn't see you. What are you doing with all these props?"

"I was told to help clean up the props we didn't need, make sure they don't get in anybody's way on opening night. And by the way, why were you skipping in here in such a hurry?" Mr. Smith questioned as the two bent down to retrieve the fallen props.

Vivien could barely contain her excitement. "I think Steven's falling in love with me."

"You mean the younger you."

"Of course I did, who else would I be talking about?"

"You've only been here for a day or so, and you're already thinking you've completed your task?" He questioned again.

"No, but if I can get them to just spend some time together, I'm already doing a lot." Vivien said confidently. The butterflies were being replaced with bubbles of excitement. "It's perfect. I understood why I never got him the first time around. I was always aloof and I never got to spend some real quality time with him you know? I never let him in. Now all of that's going to change."

"But…"

"No buts! It's going to work this time!"

She ignored Mr. Smith as she made her way into the back room. She turned off the makeup lights and flipped on the fluorescents and plopped into one of the hard makeup chairs, staring absentmindedly at all the products lined up on the counter. Why was Mr. Smith always getting on her case? How could he know her better than she knew herself? He couldn't, there was no way. He definitely wasn't God, he wasn't an angel, in the end she wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to be, but at least he seemed like a genuinely nice guy and he had gotten her the second chance at life. She was grateful for that at least.

"Uhm, hi."

She jumped at the voice, and bolted off of the chair to come face to face with Corey. "Hi." She mumbled back and she caught the makeup chair she had nearly knocked over. "Why are you here? Looking for me?"

Corey looked at her like she had said the silliest thing in the world. "Considering I'm back here, yes I am looking for you. Dress rehearsal's about to start soon and I still don't have my makeup on."

"Oh uh." Vivien rummaged through the cartons of makeup she still had in another box. Out of all the roles she could have had in the theatre, they just had to put her in as the makeup girl. She hardly knew anything about makeup, but at least she had fumbled her way through the last day and a half and nobody had any serious complaints. Then again…the rest of the cast had already sat in the makeup chair a while ago.

Corey caught her gaze. "If you were wondering if I was avoiding putting on makeup as long as possible, the answer's yes."

Vivien couldn't help but smile as she tried to pick the right colours for Corey's face. He had been mostly a technical guy as far as she remembered, but for whatever reason during that last play he had decided to take an acting role instead.

"I take it you don't do an acting role too often." Vivien said absentmindedly as she started wiping some foundation on his face. It was a little light, but she figured she would mix it with a darker colour later in a minute.

"How did you know that?"

Dang. Vivien thought. I'm not myself anymore, I'm just some stranger he met the other day. How would I know he hasn't acted much before?

"Uh, uh, because of your inexperience." Vivien blabbled. "Most of us, er, actors and actresses go and sit in the chair like it's no big deal. You've delayed that process for as long as possible, I'm guessing probably because you're thinking it's weird for a guy to have makeup on."

"Yeah." Corey muttered. He didn't have to have the verbal confirmation for Vivien to know she had (miraculously) been dead on the mark: his face was about five shades redder.

"So why the sudden switch?"

Corey shrugged as well as he could without making a face at the same time. He just wanted to try something different, so he said. He was always tired of being in the same small little lights and sounds box up behind the audience, or backstage somewhere doing all the backbreaking work and not getting acknowledged for it. He wanted to be onstage for once, just to see what it was like. From the tone of his voice Vivien thought there was something more behind his explanation but she easily brushed it aside. She just wanted to finish his stage makeup, send him on his way and start brainstorming more ideas for Steven and her younger self to spend more time. The plan was working, but she had only about a day and a half left and she wanted to make sure she put as much momentum behind the plan before her three days were over.

_Maybe by the time I get back to the "real" world, Steven and I will be boyfriend and girlfriend._ Vivien thought smugly. _Maybe I'll even be his fiancée, instead of that Patricia girl._ She could barely stop smiling from the sheer excitement.

"So something going on in your life?" Corey asked.

"What?"

"Your grin could light up a whole city block."

So it had been that obvious. Vivien thought to herself. She decided not to try and cover up what was going on between Steven and her younger self. There was no point anyhow; she wanted the whole world to know.

"Oh I'm just so happy and excited." She said as she finished smoothing out the last few blemishes on Corey's face. She put the foundation back onto the counter and returned with black eyeliner, feeling herself almost sighing from the happiness. "Young love seems to be blossoming everywhere."

"Really?" Corey's face seemed to be genuinely intrigued by that statement. "Where is young love blossoming?"

"Can't you feel it?" Vivien said excitedly as she grabbed the darker shade of foundation and gingerly patted and smooth it over his existing layer. Miraculously, that did the trick. So it wasn't a perfect job or shade, but for dress rehearsals it would do well enough. She would just have to wok on the perfect formula of mixing the two colours in time for opening night. "Steven seems to be falling in love me—I mean, Vivien."

Corey's forehead wrinkled in something that Vivien could only place as confusion. "I see."

_I see?_ Was that all Corey had really said? Vivien was more or less stunned into silence. People were always so excited at the prospect of young love, even if it wasn't their own, and clearly everyone could see how much Steven was falling in love with her younger self? They were spending so much time together, he was teaching her all these things about what he knew. You would only want to spend THAT much time with someone you really cared about, it was just part of human nature.

"What do you mean, you see?" Vivien didn't make much of an effort to try and mask the disappointment that had crept into her voice. She was too busy doing the finishing touches on his face. "You don't think it's a wonderful idea?"

Corey shrugged as best as he could without moving his head too much. "Steven and Vivien? I don't know. I mean, I don't really see him falling for her, not like that. Even if he did, I don't think they'd last that long."

It was a good thing Vivien had managed to finish putting on all the needed makeup on Corey's face, because otherwise he would have had to go out onstage with only half of his makeup done. He was Steven's best friend which probably gave him license to have a little more liberty in what he could say, but he had also just crossed a line. How dare Corey say something like that, predicting Steven and Vivien's relationship would not last when it was in the beginning stages! How DARE he.

She snapped. She nearly slammed down the container of foundation onto the counter. She whirled around to glare at Corey straight in the eye.

"What do you mean." She started. "That you don't see them lasting long at all. Do you mean to say they don't deserve happiness?"

Vivien sensed the slight confusion and fear in the young boy's eye. "No, that's not what I meant." He began to stammer.

"Than what is?" Vivien could feel the colour rising in her face. "Do you mean to say that Vivien is not good enough for Steven? What about her isn't good enough? Is it because she's not pretty enough? Is it because she doesn't wear the latest fashions or any makeup at all? Is it because Steven would be embarrassed to have her by his side if they started going out?"

"No that's not what I meant!"

Vivien took no notice to the pleading in Corey's voice.

"Your makeup is done." She replied coldly. "They're probably expecting you by now."

Corey took the hint and bolted out of the chair and out the door.

She took several deep breaths to steady herself. Vivien knew it was wrong of her to have lashed out at Corey like that, but she was just so frustrated. Everything was falling into place, Steven was sure to ask her out any time now. Everything was set, and yet there were still people trying to shoot her down. Both of her down.

"Are you ok?"

Vivien jumped at the noise. It was Steven with a concerned look on his face. Even after all those years, just one look from his face could still make her heart beat soar. He had probably seen her trying so hard to calm herself down. That thought made her flush with embarrassment.

"Uh yeah." She quickly said, shoving the last few makeup containers and brushes back into her box. "What are you doing here? Weren't you helping Vivien with the lights?"

"I was." Steven agreed. "But then we put the last light up and there's not too much we can do until they've finished dress rehearsals and get back to us on what stuff we have to tweak. Well, to be more exact, they have to run through it once before they want to run through it again with the cues from lights and sounds."

"I see."

"And also I saw Corey run out of here in a hurry, so I thought something was up."

What could Vivien say to Steven about that subject? _Oh, Corey didn't agree that you and my younger self are going to end up happily ever after and I got mad at him about that?_ No, that would definitely not work. So she just shrugged her shoulders and said something along the lines of how Corey was scared of sitting in the makeup chair and had bolted as soon as he was done. Luckily it was an explanation that Steven accepted.

There was a bit of a silence after that, so Vivien thought it was the perfect time to bring the conversation back to what was important.

"So, thanks a lot for helping teach Vivien a thing or two about the lights." She said.

"Oh it was no problem." Steven said cheerily. "I was glad to do it."

"I'm glad." Vivien couldn't help but smile.

"You know what I'm really grateful for?"

Vivien was a little puzzled by that statement. Maybe not so much the statement, but as to the sudden change of tone in his voice. Where was that relaxed and confident teenager she had always known? His voice wavered, his forehead was wrinkled, and in that one second she wasn't sure who he was anymore.

"Uh. No, I don't know."

"I'm grateful you're here. So grateful. I'm so glad I met you Kathy."

Everything happened so fast. Before she knew it, he had closed the distance between the two of them and gently pressed his lips against hers.

She froze as her mind began to reel. This was all so wrong, yet this felt so right. Steven was falling in love with her, but it was the wrong her! He was supposed to fall in love with her younger self, not her older self.

He took her silence as sufficient encouragement and wrapped his arms around her waist until a second later (when her brain had regained control of the rest of her body) she managed to pry herself out his grasp.

"What are you doing?!" she exclaimed. But both of them caught sight of a new figure in their field of vision and turned their heads.

There was Vivien, the younger Vivien standing there still holding the door ajar with her foot, her mouth and eyes wide with state of shock. No matter how hard Vivien had tried to prevent herself from breaking the heart of her younger self, history was repeating itself all over again. Maybe not quite history, since Vivien turned and ran out of the room a second later, but the scars would be the same.

"Alright, that definitely killed the mood." Steven said, trying to keep his voice as cheery as possible. "Now…where were we?"

Vivien never heard him. By that time she had already bolted out of the room in pursuit of her younger self.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Thank you so much to Cassandra30 for writing all those wonderful reviews of this story, and also for my other Twice in a Lifetime fanfic, "Twice in an Eternity". Your comments have made me revisit this story and try extra hard to finish it. Thank you! 


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Rehearsals were over and everybody else had gone home for the day, leaving her alone in the theatre with Mr. Smith. There was a sense of excitement as tomorrow night was opening night, but after everyone left there was just that heavy feeling of sadness.

At first she had been snappy with him, more or less because she was still half in shock over the events that had happened only several hours ago, but what had seemed like several lifetimes. But after the emotions whirling inside of her ran their course and left her beaten and tired, she finally felt ready to begin opening up to him and accepting his company once again. Even then he knew to be cautious, joining her in one of the front row seats as they watched the silent set.

"I know it's probably not what you want to hear, but I've been doing this long enough to know that changing yourself is the best way to achieve your goal." Mr. Smith finally broke the silence.

Vivien almost smiled. "Is this your way of telling me 'I told you so'?"

"It was my way of saying don't put all your eggs into one basket."

"Why did this have to happen all over again?" Vivien wondered aloud. "Except this time it's even worse…he…he kissed me. Well I wanted him to kiss me, but he kissed the wrong me."

"Maybe it was something that was meant to happen, no matter how hard you tried to change it." Mr. Smith consoled her.

"But…but I always thought it was meant to be. I really thought…really thought he liked me."

"Think back to what you know." Smith suggested. "What was he like yesterday, before you suggested he hang out with your younger self? What kinds of things did he do to her?"

"What do you mean?"

"Did he talk to her, spend time with her? Did he smile and laugh with her? Did he volunteer to help her out in certain situations?"

As much as Vivien hated to admit it, she was starting to see what Mr. Smith had been trying to hint at all along. It was like waking up from a dream into a very disappointing reality. Of course Mr. Smith had been right, even if he had been no angel at the very least he was a third party and he or she were always the rational and logical ones that weren't blinded by love or infatuation. She thought about all the memories she had of Steven both in her past life and the life she was living now. There were moments when he had seemed to pay extra attention to her, and Vivien realized now those moments were few and far between. She had hopelessly fixated on those precious moments without realizing that overall he was paying no more attention to her than he would to a friend.

"No." she finally admitted. "He never paid very much attention to me at all."

"Exactly." Mr. Smith concluded. "Why would you want someone like that to occupy such an important position in your life?"

Vivien had to admit he was right. She understood now, why she had been so tired and bitter and jaded for most of her life. It wasn't so much the fact that he had chosen that girl over her (so long ago she had even forgotten that girl's name). It was because Steven had never paid the same amount of attention towards _her._ _She_ had been the one to do the running around. _She_ had been the one to invite him to her senior prom. _She_ had always been the one to call him. And all those times he had promised he would call her back in a couple of hours (because he was busy at that moment) he would never call her back. _She_ had always been the one to call him back a couple of weeks later, to which he would exclaim happily that he had just been thinking of calling _her_.

They were all lame excuses. It had taken her twenty-four years and two lifetimes to figure that out. That's why she had felt so worn out all those years. She had used up all her energy chasing after a guy that was not going to give her the time of day, even if her life depended on it. She had spent all of her energy convincing her mind to believe something her heart didn't. Even now it was still exhausting.

"So what happens now?" Vivien wondered again. "I basically bombed my goal."

"If I may be so bold as to say so, I don't think that was ever what Othniel had in mind for your goal." Smith pointed out. "I remember you saying you would help yourself open your heart to love, not play matchmaker to try and win Steven's heart."

Had she really said that? Vivien tried to think back to the conversation she had with the Judge, but she couldn't remember the particulars. Mr. Smith had kept pointing out to her over the past two days that the best plan was inflicting some sort of change within herself: maybe Judge Othniel would have never have let her have a second chance if she had set her goal so narrow-mindedly.

"There's still a day and a bit left." Mr. Smith continued.

"Yeah. A day and a bit before I'm banished to burn in hell I'm sure." Her mind was clouded and chaotic. She had to get away and just think about something else for a while. She got up to leave.

"Where are you going?"

She turned to face him. "There's a small pond about a hundred yards or so that way. I'm just going there to think and clear my mind."

She walked on, half expecting Mr. Smith to yell at her to stop and hopefully give her more guidance. But that shout never came, and within a few minutes she reached the pond. The pond was nothing more than a hole dug in the ground and filled with water. But it was far away from the school yet close enough to the rest of the world at the same time to give Vivien a sense of comfort.

In reality it was a place she would never visit during the daytime, because during that time the pond was the designated spot for smokers. But now at this time of night there was nobody else in sight, and the way the dusk was settling in and the reflection of the moon was slowly becoming evident on the water made the whole setting feel more secluded and pure.

Vivien sighed to herself and gazed across the small body of water. Steven was definitely out of the picture, but she had a feeling the damage was done. So what could she do now? She had to do something, or else she was going to end up going down the same road once again and turn out bitter and jaded in terms of love. There had to be something – or more importantly someone – else out there that was willing to take a chance on this awkward duckling. There had to be someone else that would see her as a swan. But would she find him in time? Would she be able to convince her younger self? She had already screwed it up once, and she may not have enough time to get her younger self to warm up to her again.

That thought was starting to become depressing.

"Hi."

Vivien jumped at the noise and pretty much bolted up from the spot she had been sitting on. She cursed herself for letting her mind wander so much in such a seemingly excluded spot at this time of the night. As safe as her community was back in the day (or was it these days?), everybody knew they were living with a false sense of security. She should have been more careful.

"Oh sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

She clutched at her heart as she panted in an effort to slow her heart rate as well as her breathing. Squinting through the dusk that was turning into darkness, her heart rate slowed down even more as she recognized the shadowy figure.

Corey.

"It's alright." She finally said. "I didn't think there would be anyone left that would wander down here."

The boy shrugged. "I come here sometimes when I need to think, or I just want some peace and quiet. It's just a hole with some water and weeds, but I like it. Does that sound silly?"

"No." Vivien said softly. "Not silly at all." She understood everything he had said, and it struck her as odd in a way, to have something in common with the young boy. Did he always come down here when he needed to think? She had come down to the pond countless times, and not once had she remembered running into him there.

She suddenly realized she had sat back down onto the grass again, leaving an awkward Corey standing.

"Would you like to sit?"

He debated that question for a moment before he decided to sit down on the ground beside her. He seemed wary, and frankly Vivien couldn't blame him. She had been cold with him, criticized him, and in the end everything had backfired in her face. He was right on all counts. He was Steven's best friend, so at the very least he should know what kinds of girls he _didn't_ like.

He had avoided her for the whole day. That was never a good sign.

She wanted to just go and apologize to Corey, but no matter how hard she wanted to, she couldn't form the right words.

Mr. Smith appeared beside her in his invisible outfit. Luckily for her, he seemed to know exactly what she was feeling. "Just do it." He advised her. Then he was gone.

Vivien stared at the young boy beside her. He was looking out onto the still water, out to the full moon and even further out on to the soccer field where the automatic sprinklers had started.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, about, you know what." She said. "I think it goes without saying that you were right on all counts, and I was dead wrong."

She studied the reaction on his face. In the instant she had said that, most of the worry and wariness vanished from his face. She swore she even saw a small flicker of his smile.

"I think I was just right because I've known him longer. But apology accepted." He said. "Though for reasons I may never understand, the first thing you did when you got here was try to play matchmaker." It wasn't a direct criticism; Corey's face was carefree and almost playful now, so Vivien fired a shot back.

"Oh? Then what are your grounds of being so certain that they are not right for each other?"

Corey's expression changed within an instant, and now he bore a pained expression, the same pain that Vivien felt in the heart. She remembered Mr. Smith's words with a sting.

_He doesn't pay any attention to you, so why would you want someone like that to fill such an important position in your life?_

She knew Corey's answer was probably going to be somewhere along those lines, but she wanted to hear it from his mouth just the same. When he finally did speak, she wasn't surprised.

"He just doesn't act like he wants to be anything more than her friend." Corey said carefully. "He doesn't seem to take much of an interest in trying to learn anything more about her, her likes and dislikes, her strengths and weakness, what makes her smile, laugh, cry."

Now she was curious. "So what types of guys do you think would be suited for her?"

Corey closed his eyes as if he was dreaming. "I think she's the kind of girl that more mature guys can handle. All I see around me with my peers are guys that go for the girls that are beautiful on the outside. The way they see it, they've got all the time in the world to find "the one." Right now, they can go out with the prettiest girl they can find and dump her once she gets boring."

Vivien felt a weird sense of déjà vu when she heard those words. She remembered a conversation she once had with her cousin where he assured her there would be a day when the guys around her would stop going for looks alone and finally grow up and start looking beneath the skin. Her heart had also sunk when she heard they usually did that around the age of 30. That seemed like a lifetime away. She didn't know what more to say, so she waited and prayed that Corey would continue with his explanation.

"Like I said, she's the type of girl that only mature guys can see. Because they're the only ones that will be able to look beneath her skin and see how beautiful she is on the inside. How…how she doesn't always know the right things to do or say, but her heart is the purest of gold. How she's shy and quiet but full of hope. She's always willing to forgive if you've shown you are truly sorry for your actions. She needs a guy that can see all of that, and would do anything he could to make her smile. When she smiles, and I mean really smiles…you can see it in her eyes. You know she's smiling from inside out. It doesn't happen too often, but he knows it's there."

Vivien was slightly stunned. Here was this boy she hadn't paid attention to for most of her first life, and somehow he had observed her and made her sound even better than she had viewed herself!

All of a sudden it felt like she was waking up for the first time. She had been blessed and given the point of view of a third party. Her mind was clear.

Oh what a fool she had been.

"You love her." Her heart was pounding fast and furious. "You love Vivien."

"What?" Corey's eyes went wide and from the expression on his face, he was in total surprise and shock that she had figured it all out. "No I don't!"

"Yes you do." It was all becoming clearer and clearer in her mind. Corey was madly in love with her. Why else would he have noticed and described her smile as a beautiful and rare gem? Why else would he make reasons to explain why no other guys had noticed her?

He met her eyes and both of them knew she was right. He had such a young boyish looking face, but in those mature eyes of his, there was a light she had never seen before. The light of love. He conceded defeat and hung his head sheepishly.

"Fine I do." He whispered. "I love her smile, I love her laugh. I love her heart of gold, I love so many things about her, and it pains me to see guys pay no more attention to her than they would an acquaintance. I know it sounds silly of me to say this, but if Steven loved Vivien like she loved him, and she was completely happy, I know my heart would be at peace."

Vivien stared at the young boy, searching hard through her memories. How could she have never noticed him? He was so handsome, that mass of blonde hair, the sparkling light blue eyes, the way one corner of his mouth rose higher than the other when he had an embarrassed smile on his face. But it was the inside that was getting her attention. In those few short days that she had truly known him, he had shown to have a heart of gold himself. And a lifetime ago, right before she had hit that bus, Corey had still been his wonderful self towards her, kind and considerate. A wonderful gentleman.

Corey would be a much better candidate for her. Maybe he had been her chance at happiness all along.

She wasn't sure if her younger self would fall in love with Corey, especially with his connection with Steven. But at any rate, it was a lot better than pining over him. She had already tried that once in her life, and that had left her bitter and jaded. It wasn't who she was meant to be. But on the other hand, maybe this was a sign. Maybe she was being given a nudge in the right direction.

"You should ask her out." She blurted.

"What?" Corey was startled again. He almost looked like he could bolt at any second. "Why?"

"If you like her, why not?"

"Cause…" Corey looked thoughtful and torn for a few seconds. He was a surprisingly mature boy for his age as he launched into another long explanation. He knew Vivien really liked Steven, which was blatantly obvious. Even now when Vivien knew the truth that Steven did not view her in the same light, Corey knew she probably loved him. Nobody fell out of love that easily. If he did ask her out, he wanted to be sure she was over Steven. He had seen it before in movies and in real life – people getting dumped and going out with another person that was close to their ex, in order to stay close by their side.

"I just can't ask her, not now." Corey said. "I hope you understand. If she likes me, I want to know she likes me and only me. I'm selfish like that."

"No, that's not selfish." Vivien whispered. "I understand." At that moment she wished she could have asked for more time, slowed it down, sped it up, anything to do to try to get Casey to ask out her younger self, but she knew that was impossible. She had been given three days and three days only.

She had no choice but to watch him walk away. Every bone in her body told her no, she had to try and hold onto him, get him to tell the younger Vivien that he loved her, even if it was way too soon. But her heart held her back. If he asked her out too soon, she could easily reject him. She couldn't let her younger self do that to Corey. If she was going to burn for the rest of her life, then so be it.

Mr. Smith appeared beside her again.

"Maybe it is love that's letting you watch him walk away." He suggested.

She sighed. "Then let's hope his love for me will spill over into the next lifetime."


End file.
